According to Ribeiro and Cumming in The Visual History of Costume, Plate
III (1989), this is an "Unknown girl" attributed to the Master of the
Countess of Warwick. "Note-The late 1560s saw a preference for
brighter, fresher colors set off by enamelled gold jewelry, arranged in
a highly distinctive manner, gold braid trimming and strong,
naturalistic embroidered patterns.
Head-A small velvet cap decorated
with feathers and jeweled roses is perched on the crown of the head,
over hair drawn back into a gold caul. A pink, a favorite Elizabethan
flower, is tucked behind the left ear.
Body-A double-layered ruff,
embroidered in gold, is drawn in completely around the neck; it is
complimented by matching wrist ruffs. The partlet has a standing collar
edgedwith gold braid and embroidered with the same pattern of roses as
the sleeves. The chemise is seen beneath the open front of partlet and
bodice. The latter has matching raised shoulder bands (rolls -gogm)
through which rounded puffs of the chemise sleeve are pulled. The
tightly fitting bodice has a central fastening, the pipedvelvet edges
of which have been whipped over with gold thread. Applique panels of
gold braid on a black ground decorate the front of the bodice and the
shoulder bands. The skirt, matching the plain ground of the bodice
swells out from the waistline.
Accessories-A narrow sash acts as a
girdle. The emphatic jewelry includes a pearl and gold rope around the
neck with a pendnat enamelled gold figure; a ribbon from which an
oak-leaf pendnat studded with pearls is pinned asymmetrically to the
left breast; and a thick chain is looped up and pinned to the bodice."
Keywords: 1569, Marquise, straight coiffure, high enclosing neckline, neck ruff, French sleeves, jeweled feathered hat, necklace, draped necklace, rings, pendant, cuffs, vee waistline, farthingale